Orchard heater



May 9, 1933.

.1. s. HoDGEs 1,908,354

ORCHARD HEATER Filed June l, 1931 a 30 if; e il.

Attorney.

Patented May 9,

UNITED STATES PATeNr oFF-ice JOHN s. HoDGEs, or WEST RIVERSIDE,cALrronrTrAv Application fue@ nine. 1, 1931. sriar No. 541,413.`

This invention relates to and has for .an`

object the provision in an orchard heater in combination with the usualoil or fuel receptacle, ofa detachable combustion chamber having a baseconstituting a` generator and a frusto-conical member adapted lto belsubmerged in the oil of the receptacle, 5 arranged one within the otherfor directing the heat upwardly to and through a stack which is usuallyprovided on said receptacle.

In the considerationV of this intention it' may be understood thatorchard heaters are usually arranged to burn crude oil, and comprise abase forming a receptacle forthe oil and a stack superposedonlthe base,whereby the products of combustion are discharged from the stack to theatmosphere. In existing types of heaters the combustion is not complete,and `therefore unnecessary quantities of smoke and smudge emanate fromthe heaters during theroperation thereof.y

It is an ob]ect of this invention to provide an orchard heater ofsimple, economical and effective character which lvvill almost,

if not quite completely, eliminate the smokev attendant upon the use ofsuch heaters.V This I accomplish by providing-in the base of the heaterandthruout the superposedlpor-V tions thereof sufficient radiatingsurfaces 30 whereby a maximum heat may be generated in the base of theheater for the-,purpose of volatilizing the fuel and,y thereaftereffecting a completecombustion in and thruout the heater in order that aminimumof vsmokeor "Y smudge may be discharged-intothe atmosphere, and aminimum` amount,` of carbon will be deposited on therfwalls andstack ofvthe heater. Y t

By reason, 0f, the conflirzlete` Combustion effected by the useof, myheaterit yWill beapparent thatthe operation of; the heater is moreewnemcaha higherfdegree :0f heatis obtained, and a substantial economyiseffetedin the cost of fuel. t,

A Other and more, detailed Objects, of; invention may appeanasr thedescription proi-V gresses.

Shown: a preferred: forniA Offmy invent-ion In theV accompanying-fdrawing have the appended claims without departingfrom,l the spiritthereof. In-said drawing,

Fig.-1 is a` composite elevation of an; as-. sembled orchard heaterembodying my im-` provements, partly in section and partly 'in 55.exteriorelevation. f

Fig. 2 is aY sectional line 2%-2 of Fig. 1.. i v f `I1`ig.3 is asectional plan on line 3-f3 of F1g.1. y C Briefly described, myimprovements inf clude a fuel receptacle 1 having a. detachable top 2and a combustion c-hamberassociated with the receptacle and includingl agener,- ator3an intermediate section .4, and inner 05 andouterljchimneys or stacks `and` 6,.reA spectively, superposed on thesection 4.# Y i It will be noted that the generator-Sis perforated andis Y adapted to:V be seatedon the bottom 74 of the receptaele"1-and sub`79 merged in a volume of fluid fuelA 8, Such as crude petroleum. Thegenerator 3 has enlargedbase portion 9` with an inwardl turned flange 10at thepbottom, atpwhic point the generator 4rests upon Lt'he i bottom of7.5 the receptacle?.v The generator also isprof, vidediwith afrusto-concal upper portion 1I having a Hange 12 underlyingthe top, 2ofithe receptacle 4 i A Y A thimble 13 is suitablysecured in. the $9 planof, the same on openingof the upper portionll ofrjthegenerator, andprojects upwardly beyondf the fiangel-Zfor a. suitable distance so astovtcelef. scope into the intermediate section 4 which isdetachably-fltted onto the thimbleorvper- 8,5'

and the member 14 to the-.samelevel asinthereceptacle 1, The`intermediate portion 4. i provides. en ;-Oxygenatingf zonel there 1.90

Within to which oxygen is supplied from the atmosphere, preferably thrutwo series of apertures 17, 17 etc., arranged one above the other andformed in series around the periphery of the member 4.

A pair of dampers 18, 18 are fitted on the exterior of the member 4 and'are provided with similar-apertures 19,19 etc;',whichfare adapted to beadjusted to and fromfregistra-Y tion with the apertures 17, 17 etc. inthe member 4, for regulating the amount' of oxygen admitted to the zone16. The dampers 18 may have their extremities 20 bent outwardly as shownin Figs. 1. andV '3 `on radial lines from theaxis of themember 4 soasfto'provide meanswherebythedampers' may be rotated on the; member 4for open? ing and closing the apertures 17 to adesired extent.

The inner chimney 5 and the outer chimney 6 are also of frusto-conicalyform and graduallydecrease in diameter from their lower extremities totheir upper extremities. The chimney 5 is substantially spaced from andis concentric with the outer chimney 6. The chimney 5 may be providedwith a -plurality of perforations, las at 21, for' affordinglcommunication between the passage 22 in said chimney with the space 23in the chimney, which is externally of the inner chimney.` Thelower 'endof the inner chimney has an inwardly turned flange 24 tov which adepending collar 2,5v is attached by bending alternate spaced lugs 26'and 27 over andlunder the flange 24, respectively.

JTA- plurality of members 28 may be riveted to the collar 25 so as tooverlie the upper end of the member 4,` whereby the chimneys' and 6 maybesupported on saidmember 4. The collar25 telescopesA downwardly intothe ymember 4 and may be frictionally held' in position by any suitablemeans, as for instancera band 29 fixed to thev vertical legsofthemembers 28, or otherwise.

The lower end 30 of the outer chimney 6 isiturned'inwardly so as tofrictionallyengage the periphery ofthe inner chimney 5, and suitablelugs or blocks 31 may be attached to the innerperiphery of the outerchimney. 6 for frictional engagement with they upper'end of the innerchimney 5 for spacing the inner and outer chimneys apart. YAInoperation, a sutcient quantity of the fluid` fuel 8 is placed inthe'fuel receptacle 1 and the fuel is ignited by any suitable-means andinitial combustion takes placel in the frusto-conical portion 11 of thegenerator 3, thus'serving 'to heat the entire base of the heater byradiation and to gradually volatilize the fuel not only'within thegenerator 3 lbut also 'within the intermediate section 4.y'1-heda'1npers 18 Vare adjusted properly for introducing sufficientquantities of oxy gen for effecting a more perfect combustion ofthegasesgenerated within the`r heater.

vtraversed the combustible elements have been ,substantially consumed,and the heat 'discharged from the outer chimney 6 is substantiallysmokeless. v

The perforations 21 in the inner chimney 5 serve to direct heat into`,the shallowspace 23 so as lto radiate heat from ythe stack 6y into theorchard or Zone surrounding the heater. As the level of fuelis'decreased to a point below the top of the member 14 within thegenerator the burning gases are deflected outwardly lagainst thefrusto-'conical wall 11 of the generator 3 instead offbeing directedupwardly thru the chimneys land to the atmosphere. fThus, vwhenthefuellevel is lowered the combustion Zone of the generating a'me iscentralized and concentrated in but is not necessarily confined to the`xmember 14, and the heat is deflected against portion 11 and thenceupwardly thru the stack.l Y

' It will be obvious that the Vwalls of the heater from the top of thestack 6 to the bottom of thefgenerator 3 become hotteras com# bustioncontinues, and the longer the heater, is in operation the more completethe combustionv will be.

In 'other types lof heaters it is almost, if`

not quite, impossible to consume the fluid fuel beyonda depth of twoinches or` more from the bottom of the receptacle, whereas in my heaterwith the arrangement shown I am enabled to consume substantially all -ofthe fuel by reason of the form of the generator and the means providedfor ymaintaining an ample draft 'at all times.l Vhat I claim is: A Yg 1. An orchard heater c'omprisingin combination'with a fuel receptacle,a perforated generator submerged in the fuel of the receptacle providedwith aicombustion chamber, and havingl an inclined top portion, 'afrustoconical perforated member centrally mountedwithin the generatorand of lesser height and diameter than said generator, and a stacksuperposed on the generator and forming f a continuation of thecombustion eliamber.`. v

,2. lAn orchard heater Vcomprising a'fuel receptacle; a generatormounted therewithin and provided with a perforated frusto-V iso feriorof said generator forming a combustion chamber, and a frusto-conicalmember within the generator for deflecting the heat arising fromcombustion therein outwardly to the frusto-conical wall of the generatorwhen the fuel level falls below the top of the frusto-conical member.

3. An orchard heater comprising in combination with a fuel receptacle, agenerator mounted within said receptacle and submerged in the fuel,provided with a perforated frusto-conical wall, having a minor diameterat the top, a stack at the top of said generator and a perforatedfrusto-conical member centrally mounted within said generator and havingits major diameter at the top for centralizing land concentrating thecombustion of fuel therewithin, whereby the heat is directed therefromagainst the frusto-conical top portion of said generator and thence intosaid stack when the fuel level falls below the top of said member.

4. An orchard heater comprising in combination with a fuel receptacle, agenerator mounted within said receptacle and submerged in the fuel,provided with a perforated frusto-conical Wall, having a minor diameterat the top, a stack at the top of said generator and a perforatedfrustoeconical member centrally mounted within said generator and havingits major diameter at the top for centralizing and concentrating thecombustion of fuel therewithin, Whereby the heat is directed therefromagainst the frusto-conical top portion of said generator and thence intosaid stack when the fuel level falls below the top of said member, themajor diameter of said member being substant-iall)7 in excess of theminor diameter thereof so as to provide a substantial inclination to thewall of said member, for the purpose described.

5. An orchard heater comprising in combination With a fuel receptacle agenerator including a pair of concentrically arranged frusto-conicalmembers mounted within said receptacle and sumberged in the fuel, astack on the outer member said frusto-conical members being perforatedand centrally disposed relative to said stack, whereby the combustion ofthe fuel therewithin will be concentrated and centralized relative t0,and the heat from combustion will be discharged into, said stack. V

JOHN S. HODGES.

